Bill 148 For Survivors

In November 2017, Bill 148 was passed which increased workplace rights protections. Part of those changes was the new provision of 5 days of paid leave for survivors of sexual violence. Although we need to make improvements to the accessibility of these days, the majority of Bill 148 is now being attacked by the Ford administration. Ford has introduced a new law called Bill 47 which takes away the majority of new protections. They have not targeted these 5 days for survivors of domestic and sexual violence but many of the other rights in the workplace that survivors need such as higher wages, equal pay and control over work schedules are at risk. We need to link and connect all forms of violence and build a strong movement that protects us in all aspects of our lives.

We will be marching from Queen's Park to the Ministry of Labour with a banner containing our list of demands.

Our list of demands include:-WITHDRAW BILL 47.

-Do not attack Personal Emergency Leave Days which include 2 paid days.

-Do not attack equal pay for equal work and our new scheduling laws

-Stop the delay of the $15 minimum wage until 2015. Poverty leaves society’s most marginalized folk vulnerable not only to sexual and domestic violence, but other forms of violence such as wage theft, discrimination, and psychological violence.

-We need to push for changes on how Survivors can use the 5 days of paid leave and expand access to personal emergency leave so that survivors don’t have to show up to work the next day if they have experiences violence. Survivors of sexual violence should be able to unconditionally access 5 days of paid leave following an assault.